Mothers First input 20th anniversary of the Right to Food Guidelines
Overview
We have carried out this review of the right to food guidelines by assessing the human rights-based framework they adhere to. In recent years, progress on the right to food has shifted from gradual stagnation to regression. This regression can be attributed to multiple factors, including poverty, climate change, and conflict. Since the ratification of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, hunger has increased every year both in terms of numbers and severity.
This submission on the right to food guidelines speaks on behalf of approximately 230 million individuals who are now in need of humanitarian interventions, which are currently underfunded by 75%.
We will present an argument that the financing of life-saving Humanitarian Response Plans is not solely a matter of moral duty but also a legal obligation of the International donor community. The interface is the pivotal role international cooperation plays with the human rights framework as well as the United Nations founding principles.
Framework of the submission.
The submission will be structured into three chapters.
Chapter 1: The first chapter will provide an analysis of the humanitarian crisis, focusing on the scale of food insecurity in terms of both numbers and severity. This section will also highlight the extent of underfunding and its immediate impacts on those that are furthest behind in achieving food security and the Right to food.
Chapter 2: The second chapter will present an overview of the international framework of human rights, specifically addressing the right to food and the crucial role that international cooperation plays within this human rights framework. In this chapter, the focus will shift from considering the financing of humanitarian response plans as a moral duty to recognizing it as a legal obligation that we in the international donor community must fulfill.
Chapter 3: The third chapter will examine the accountability framework of the Human Rights Treaty-based system. It will analyze how the issue of international responsibility is articulated within the periodic reviews and independent expert mechanisms and compliance by State parties to the human rights treaty bodies of human rights. This section will also explore how the right to food is integrated into the United Nations framework, including the knowledge bearer system.
In conclusion, the submission will propose a set of recommendations aimed at amplifying the voices of those who are furthest behind within the Right to Food guidelines. These recommendations will be based on a comprehensive analysis presented in the preceding chapters, with the goal of advancing the cause of food security and human rights.
Pat Mc Mahon
Founding Director and Head of Advocacy
Mothers First
Mr. Pat Mc Mahon